Original Content: The Crown of Cerceia
by Rayna Chase
Summary: Rayna Chase is an heir to a kingdom, but she doesn't want to be. In fact, she would do anything not to be. Even running away from the only place she's ever known. It's my original story. It needs editing and feedback, so please help.
1. Authors note to Part One: Into the Night

Um... Okay. So i am writing the (Hopefully) novel. I was talked into posting a chapter or so...

Anyway, it needs feedback. Lots of it. I hope the people who find this love it.


	2. Chapter 1: Walk, Run, Fly!

Part One: Into the Night

Chapter ONE: Walk, Run, Fly.

Darkness surrounded me, as I looked out over the edge of the balcony. Storm clouds covered the moon, making it near black outside, but the wall shone with pacing lights. The guards. All of the security was amped because of the party, but with a room behind the palace, the guards were more spread out. I looked down. I couldn't see anything, but i knew that there was a haystack down below me. It would catch my fall. Because, even though my bedroom was a 50 feet in the air, nothing could delay my escape. Nothing.

I walked around the room. I caught a glance of my reflection in the window. My pure black outfit covered my arms and legs. Every curve of my body was shown. It was made of flexible leather, completely unadorned. It was made for blending into the night. Most wouldn't imagine a princess wearing something so plain, but it suited me. My hair was still braided up fancily from the party. My bangs twisted, and tied back from my brown eye. The other side up twined down into a side braid, giving full effect to my grey eye. I turned back to the room. I circled it again. Laying on the end table was the last book I brought from the library. 'Legends of Cerceia'. It was my favorite book, full of Dragons and their riders, Elves and their secrets, Witches and their spells. I loved reading it, and picturing myself in its pages. I picked it up and put it into my pack. I had a feeling i would need something to entertain me. I glanced out the window again, and saw the receding lights. Perfect.

I steadied myself on the rail of the balcony. I placed my hands on it and dangled out the edge. I would drop in 5… 4… 3… 2…1… GO!

I let go of the balcony. Falling felt peaceful, and just for a moment, i relaxed. Then i hit the soft, itchy, hay. I rolled out of the stack. I turned toward the palace wall, and ran as fast as i could. I made it to the base of the wall in no time. I found a seam in the brick and started climbing. The rock scratched my hands, but i kept climbing. The top was about fifteen feet into the air. I could see the village outside the palace from the top. All the little, quiet houses with their, meek little people. I looked and saw the Longshire Forest. That is where i am going tonight. The dark trees would provide cover until i could sneak off the island.

I made my way down the wall. The moment my feet touched the ground, shouts arose from the wall.

"The Princess Rayna has run from her room!"

"What do we do?"

"Find her, you idiots!"

I sped away from the wall. Crap, they might find me. I continued running. The forest got closer, and closer.

"I see her! Running to the Wood!"

I heard the noise of pursuit as i passed into the tree line. Dogs brayed behind me as i kept the sprint. I slowed to a light jog as i battled the briars to make it farther in. i spotted a stream and ran through it, to throw the dogs off scent. I continued jogging. A small flash of lighting lit the sky above me. I stopped to admire it. It was beautiful. Thunder followed, almost shaking the earth. I laughed into it.

A bolt of lightning came down in front of me. It glowed with a strange purple light. The shockwave flipped me backwards. I landed on my back. A shape loomed in front of me. The next flash of lighting revealed it to be a… a… Dragon.

The dragon stared at me relaxed, and I saw the pure beauty of it. It was a rich purple, with a yellow underbelly. The eyes were like storm clouds, grey and cold. The large horns were yellow, with purple tips. The most striking feature was its wings. They were at least double the dragon's body length, with green streaks on them. They were spread out slightly as the dragon faced me. I noted the yellow on the underside and the purple on the top. The tail was long and flexible, with yellow razor sharp spines. Each spine was tipped with green. Another feature popped out with the next lightning flash. A crown of small horns decorated its face. Going from short on the edges, to tall in the middle, made a lovely crown. Four spiky flaps went down the jaw. Every edge of the face horns was tipped in purple. The dragon held itself the way a queen did. Tall, proud and regal.

She locked eyes with me and i straightened up. I have seen a dragon like this before. In a dream. A dream that was almost like a memory, but not. The dragon bowed to me. I wanted to return the bow, but an electric shock went up my spine. The feeling traveled up my spine and gathered at the back of my head. A small gasp passed my lips. I felt as if another presence entered my head.

'Hello. I am Thalia.' The dragon said in my brain.

"Wha...um...Hi? I am Rayna," I hesitated

'Chase.' The dragon supplied.

"How did you know that?" I said, completely shocked.

'I am a dragon. The dragon.'

My hand went to my amulet. My grandmother's legends about a dragon. What was it called...?

Thunder burst into my ears. The storm was getting worse. Wait, storm?

"The dragon. The Storm-Chaser!" Even the words sounded ridiculous. That was just folklore. A book I had in my bag. But here it was; right in front of me.

"If you're real, then what other legends are true?"

The dragon just stared at me, like: figure it out.

"Alright. First things first, we need to get off this island."

Thalia just tilted her head. I lifted my hand. I reached out to stroke her nose, but Thalia recoiled from my touch. I stared into her eyes, and reached out again. I stroked her nose. I ran my hand over the spikes on her jaw toward her wings. I ran the back of my hand over her wing joint. I leaped and swung my leg over her back. I mounted and felt Thalia roll her shoulders. She took off running. I was jostled off balance. This was so much harder than riding a horse. Thalia opened her wings and i got into a jumping stance. She lifted off the ground with a hard beat of her wings. It was bumpy. She dipped drastically with every wing beat, but we rose higher.

'Am i too heavy?' I asked myself.

'No; Your fine. It will be smooth in a second.'

I was startled. Could she hear my thou-

The ride smoothed out. The sky stretched out. We sailed through the air. She started climbing higher and we burst through the cloud line. I sat up and stretched my hands out, feeling the clouds. Stars stretched in every direction and the moon glowed brightly. The wind was cold, but I couldn't feel anything. This was amazing!

"Woo-Hoo!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Thalia reared her head and shot a ball of fire in front of her. It exploded in a blue and purple starburst. I felt the heat run over me, and Thalia suddenly started flying higher. I grabbed on tighter. As sudden as the rising, she tucked her wings and dropped like a stone. Colors blurred together as i held on for dear life.

We landed in a palace courtyard. The entire place was empty. She walked up to a door and nudged it open. She preceded walked up several flights of stairs and we came to a room. It was a grand bedroom. A bed with curtains. A wooden bed table. The rest of the details skipped from my mind as Thalia dropped me on the bed. I fell asleep instantly.


	3. Chapter 2: What's this about Dragons?

Chapter Two: What's this about Dragons?

I awoke to bright sun. Which isn't right… Shouldn't my handmaids have woken?

I remembered the events of the previous night. I couldn't help but to smile. I was gone from Cerceia, but i was in a room that looked near exact to mine.

"Where am I?"

'_Diadem Gardens_,' a voice responded in my head.

The dragon from my dreams appeared in front of me. What was her name? Thalia.

"Next question," I looked her in the eyes, "why does this room look like my own?"

'_The Chase family roots begin here. Diadem Gardens. I'll tell you more lately. Can you get up?_'

I nodded. I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I stood slowly. Thalia walked over to me. I reached out and laid my arm over her neck for support. My legs felt weak and wobbly. Thalia and I walked out of the room. We started down the stairs. I got the feeling back into my legs as i kept walking down the stairs. We burst into the courtyard. My first thought was 'This is definitely not Cerceia.'

The trees looked like they were made of crystal. The green leaves made prisms of light appear on the ground, and the trunk looked like to was made out of red crystal. The mountains surrounding were red, streaked with yellow. Clear crystals grew out everywhere on the mountainside. The palace looked as if it was crafted out of the crystal on the mountains.

"Beautiful. It's beautiful."

'_Yes. My home_,' Thalia said gently.

"You live here?" I exclaimed in complete shock.

'_So did your family. Many years ago_."

I looked around, "Why would we have ever moved?"

'_Your Great, Great, Great, Grandmother Clarissa decided that the Mythics were not safe to be around. So she packed up the family and moved away to an abandoned palace. She renamed the family Chase because she always thought that her past would chase the family_."

"What was our first name?"

'_Lightchild. If nothing had changed, you would have trained with me since birth_.'

"And my name would be Rayna Esmeralda Lightchild. That's a terrible name," I cast my mind to something she just mentioned, "Wait, trained?"

'_Ah, yes. That is the real reason i brought you here. So you can learn about dragons._'

"Okay. Let's start."

'_All right. I am a Storm-Chaser dragon, or the _Filia Tempestatem_. My breed is called a legend because we come around every other generation in the Chase line.'_

_"_So i was borne in the right time to receive a dragon_._"

'_Yes_.'

"Alright. So why have i never met you before, or have even seen a dragon?"

'_You have met a dragon before. Your Grandmother, Esmeralda, had a different Storm-Chaser. My mother_.'

"What was her name?"

She seemed to smile, '_Rayna_.'

"So my grandmother wanted me to be named after her dragon. Why?"

'_Her dragon had died. She also sensed the magic in you. It was a clue to me about who would be my companion_.'

"I see. So what's this about dragons that i need to know?"

'Let's begin your lessons.'

I smirked. Now this would be fun!

Thalia pushed a bucket forward. It was filled to the brim with water.

'_Dragons breathe fire by a gas produced in their throats_.'

She opened her mouth and breathed in. She exhaled and a small column of fire came out.

'_Now throw the water in my mouth._'

"Sorry, do what now?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, '_Throw the water into my mouth_."

I lifted the bucket. She opened her mouth and began to breathe in, but i threw the water inside. She exhaled and a black, foul-smelling gas came out. It smelt like that spray stuff that goes in my hair. It keeps it in place. What's it called? Hair spray.

"Gah, what is this stuff?"

'_Dragonium._'

"Drag-Oni-Um, dragonium, DRAGONIUM!" I played the word in my mouth. I loved the way it sounded, all mysterious and cool.

'_Yes, yes, its called dragonium. It's how dragons breathe fire_,' Thalia said very annoyed.

"Got that much. What's next?"

'_Want your first flying lesson?_'

"OF COURSE!" I shouted.

Thalia turned and started walking toward a large building on the other end of the courtyard. She got there and nudges the door with her nose. Inside was a row of stalls.

"A stable," I breathed.

She kept walking down the isle between the stalls. I followed.

There was a trunk at the end of the isle.

'_Touch the crystal lock. Since your are of royal blood, it should open._'

I knelt to examine the crystal lock. It was in pattern with my family crest. A butterfly was in the center, and a diamond shape was behind it. A pattern of storm clouds and lightning made the background. My hand went to my amulet.

'_Open the trunk_.'

I touched the lock. I heard a click, and the lid popped up. Inside was a saddle. I lifted it out. It was bigger than the average horse saddle, and cut strangely, as if to allow wings. Thalia turned and dropped her wings down. I placed it on her back. I reached back into the trunk and found a collar. It greatly resembled a yoke that you put on the oxen. I set it over her neck. I saw a buckle and attached it to the saddle. I grabbed three strips of leather. One of them was very long. I fastened that at the buckle towards the base of the saddle. I ran it under Thalia's front legs and fastened it on the other side. The last two strips attached to the collar and to the girth. They had strings on it, as to attach bags.

I swung my leg over the saddle. It was more comfortable than riding bareback. The saddle seemed to be fitted to my seat. Thalia moved forwards out two doors. I gripped the collar as she took off running. This time, take off was twice as graceful. We glided in the air as lovely as a bird. Every move, every adjustment was in perfect sync. She pulled her wings up and into a dive. I leaned into the wind as we flew back do to earth. Thalia landed without a bump.

I dismounted. I turned to my dragon and raised my hand. She fitted her head into it. I felt electricity spark underneath my fingers.

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" I told Thalia.

I didn't wait for a response. I took off running towards the stables. I slowed as i reached the back doors. I looked at the detailed design of flying horses. I saw a large tower by the stables. I walked over and laid my palm across the lock. It popped open. Inside was a riding equipment room. Beautiful saddle blankets adorned the walls. Dragon saddles, normal horse saddles and weird horse saddles decorated the floor. I ran my hand over the weird looking horse saddles. I realized that they were cut for wings. I glanced over the room again.

In the back of the room, there was a beautifully cut fabric. The details made it look like wings. As I got closer, I noticed it looked like a cavalry hood. There was a chest sitting underneath it. I laid my palm across the lock and the chest popped open. I lifted out the light cavalry armor. The top was a sheet of scaly armor stuck between two pieces of black cloth. The pants were made similarly, except padded around the thighs and calves. A shoulder pad set could clip onto the shirt. I fitted myself with it all. I picked up the battle cloak. I put it on and looked into the mirror. I looked like a great black dragon with brilliant purple wings. I saw one more thing in the trunk. A cavalry sword, tucked into a sheath. I pulled it out and admired the hilt. It was set with a large amethyst stone. I fitted the belt around my waist. I drew the sword.

Its blade was made of iron. Carved into it was the word _Fulmina_. I knew what that word meant. It was Latin for lightning. I noticed then how the hilt was decorated with small lightning bolts, resonating from the amethyst.

I sheathed the sword and walked outside. I looked at Thalia.

'_You look like Esmeralda._'

"Really?"

'_Yes_'

I yawned. I could see the sun setting in the distance. Thalia and i headed back inside the quiet palace. I collapsed in my bed with a sigh of relief.


End file.
